by rondelord | Feb 12, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
Sometime as early as April, Philadelphia’s beleaguered pension fund will begin sending out $62 million in bonus checks to retirees. It will do so despite being woefully underfunded – it has less than 48 percent of its $10 billion in obligations – and...
by rondelord | Feb 12, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
Public-sector workers are under fire again — and not just from Republicans. Three years after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker curtailed collective bargaining and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cut pension benefits for public employees in the name of budget austerity,...
by rondelord | Feb 12, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
“If a government can’t provide the core basic services, it’s failed in it’s mission,” says Pete Constant, a former member of the San Jose City Council who advocated for sweeping pension reform. “Our city had been in many years of budget deficits and...
by rondelord | Feb 3, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
The head of the Nevada AFL-CIO proclaimed Tuesday that “working families are under attack” by Republican lawmakers who want to weaken collective bargaining laws and pensions now that they control the Legislature. Danny Thompson, executive-secretary treasurer of the...
by rondelord | Feb 3, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Pensions, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
TALLAHASSEE | Three troubled Jacksonville pensions are among 19 statewide that received “call to action” letters Tuesday informing them their unfunded liabilities are unacceptable and need to be fixed now. The 19 pension plans all are less than 50 percent funded,...
by rondelord | Feb 3, 2015 | Collective Bargaining, Fire, Labor, Police, Politics, Public Employees (Non-Sworn), Unions
When Rahm Emanuel strode into office as mayor of Chicago in 2011, one of his first targets was the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). He sought and obtained state legislation limiting the right of Chicago teachers to strike. But he lost doubly in the fall of 2012: The CTU...
